Cream Tea Cupcakes Recipe

These cupcakes are a lighter alternative to the usual scones, possibly not lighter in calories though I'm afraid, but at least there is an element of portion control!

It's very rare that I buy clotted cream but I made an exception for these cupcakes and I'm really pleased that I did.

The cupcakes are really easy to make and can be made in a food processor, food mixer or Thermomix.

Hidden Raspberry Cupcakes Recipe

I bought the raspberries on the spur of the moment, it was a grey day and they looked bright and beautiful, I did wonder if it might be an expensive purchase I'd later regret. My head said don't buy them, my heart said I really want those raspberries. Well was I in for a nice surprise the raspberries from the supermarket smell and taste delicious.

The chocolate cupcakes with a hidden raspberry and topped with chocolate fudge frosting are a real indulgent happy sweet treat and my favourite way to eat them is to cut the cupcakes in half to show off the raspberry within.

Top Tip:  To prevent greasy cupcake cases try sifting a little flour into each section of the muffin tray prior to placing the cupcake cases into the tin.  After the cupcakes have cooled simple dust away the excess flour.

Makes: 12
You will need:  12 section muffin tin and paper cases
Recipe:
150g softened butter
150g caster sugar
160g self raising flour
15g cocoa powder, sifted
Raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC.
2. Add all of the ingredients, except for the raspberries, to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until smooth.
3. Divide the batter between the cake cases and place a raspberry on top, press slightly into the batter.

Experimenting with different size cupcake cases, the largest cupcakes were too large for the amount of cake batter

4. Bake for 25 minutes until cooked. Place the tray onto a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then remove the cupcakes onto a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Fudge Icing
You will need:
100g plain chocolate
2 tbsp milk
50g unsalted butter, cubed
75g icing sugar, sifted
Raspberry Flavouring

1.Place the chocolate, milk and butter into a small pan and heat very gently, stir until the chocolate and butter have melted.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, add the icing sugar and a few drops of raspberry flavouring. Keep on stirring until the mixture is thick and smooth. If too thick add a little more milk to thin slightly. Should the mixture separate, add a little cold milk which should bring the mixture back to an icing consistency.
3. Spread the icing over the top of the cakes.

More Raspberry Recipes:
Triple Almond and Raspberry Cake
Fresh Raspberry and Almond Traybake
Peach and Raspberry Slice

Rocky Road Cupcakes - Recipe

The perfect accompaniment with these cupcakes is a drink of hot chocolate topped with lots of squirty cream and overloaded with marshmallows.

The topping on these cupcakes may look a bit skinny but it's early into February and we're still trying to eat less. On second thoughts, I think that may be stretching the truth.

For rocky road overload just add more pecans, marshmallows or other toppings of your choice such as chopped digestive biscuits, glace cherries, pistachios, chopped Maltezers, and more melted chocolate.  What's your perfect Rocky Road topping?

Top Tip: The cupcakes will take in moisture if they are stored in a tin overnight and they can be decorated the next day.  If the cupcake cases come away from the cakes I always remove them and decorate as above.  Foil cases are the most reliable answer to this problem but they're a bit pricier.

Makes: 12
115g softened butter
115g caster sugar
85g self raising flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 large eggs
100g plain chocolate chips

Decoration
24 pecan nuts
24 mini marshmallows
200g plain chocolate

You will need:  12 hole muffin tin, 12 muffin cases

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.  Beat the eggs and add gradually, add a tablespoon of flour with the last of the egg to prevent curdling.
3. Sift the flour and cocoa powder and fold into the cake batter.
4. Fill the cupcake cases with the batter (using an ice cream scoop makes this easier).
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked.
6. Leave the cakes in the tin for a few minutes and then place the cakes onto a cooling rack.
7. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.  Spoon most of the chocolate over the cupcakes.  Top with pecans and marshmallows.  Decorate with drizzled melted chocolate.

More chocolate recipes:
Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes
Nigella's Chocolate Banana Muffins
Chocolate and Beetroot Cake

Mini Gingerbread Cupcakes - Recipe

For some unknown reason I've got a mountain of gold mini cupcake cases, this recipe uses 18 cases and I've still got a whole heap left. These cute sticky gingerbread mini bakes are easy to make and a favourite of ours.  They keep for a few days and get stickier by the day but I doubt they'll last that long.

4 tbsp apple and ginger juice (I used Cawston Press) or ginger ale
90g dark muscovado sugar
⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda
70g self-raising flour
1 level tsp ground ginger
1 medium egg
3 tbsp vegetable oil
White icing to decorate

You will need: 18 mini muffin cases - two mini muffin cake tins

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
2. Place the apple and ginger juice and the muscovado sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Take a wooden spoon and break down any lumps of sugar. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
3. Sift the flour and ginger into a bowl. Whisk the egg and oil together in another bowl, then slowly add this to the flour, whilst stirring continuously. Add the apple and ginger juice or ginger ale to the mixture in two goes whilst gently mixing it in.
4. Three-quarters fill each muffin case and bake for about 15 minutes until risen and firm. Remove from the tins and leave to cool.
5. Decorate with white icing.

One year ago:
                          Individual Raspberry Trifles
                          Last Minute Christmas Puddings
                          Meringue Topped Mince Pies
                          Mini Stollen

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes - National Cupcake Week 2014

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

I doubt anyone could eat more than one of these super indulgent cupcakes, they must be one of the richest cupcakes I have ever made.  Fortunately, I can freeze them and take one out of the freezer to thaw for those days when I need chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.

It's National Cupcake Week and for once I managed to make some cupcakes and have posted them on the blog midweek - well done me!

My local Italian restaurant posted a Ferrero Rocher Cake on their Facebook page and it prompted me to make these cupcakes.  I know these Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes have been 'out there' for a long time but somehow I have never got round to making them.

The cupcakes I've seen posted on Facebook this year are truly amazing and inspirational works of creativity.

Here's the recipe to make 12

85g self-raising flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
110g caster sugar
110g softened salted butter
2 large eggs
1tsp baking powder
2tsp milk

You will need:  12 hole muffin tin and cupcake cases

1. Preheat the oven to 150ºC Fan.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and whisk for a good couple of minutes.
3. Using an ice cream scoop place balls of the batter into the 12 cupcake cases.
4. Bake for 20 minutes until cooked.  Remove from the oven and cool.

For the Nutella Buttercream
225g sifted icing sugar
100g softened unsalted butter
2 heaped tablespoons Nutella
2 tsp milk

To decorate: 4 cubes of dark chocolate melted

1. Beat everything together for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add more milk if the mixture is too stiff.
2. Put the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a 1M nozzle and pipe onto the cupcakes.  Top with a Ferrero Rocher.
3. Drizzle over melted chocolate using a teaspoon.

Sparkling Redcurrant Cupcakes - Recipe

I revealed on Facebook that I had for no apparent reason gone into blogger meltdown.  It didn't matter what I cooked it just seemed to fail. Cherries falling to the bottom of my cake, rocky roads that didn't quite rock and on and on it went.  I even made hubby a bacon sandwich that you definitely wouldn't pay for!  Although he did remind me he had already paid and that it tasted good all the same:)

My cupcakes may look a little like Christmas with the frosted redcurrants but I love redcurrants coated in sugar, the combination of sweet and tart is amazing, second only to dipping a stick of rhubarb into a bag of sugar.

I've got three redcurrant bushes in my fruit garden and they reward me with lots and lots of bright red bead like jewels that glisten in the sun.  The fruits can be eaten raw, cooked or can be frozen.  They fruit from July through to the middle of August and give us that all important vitamin C.  Unfortunately ants seem to enjoy my fruits too but there isn't much I can do about that!

Redcurrants cost a ridiculous amount of money in the shops and they are sold in minute quantities, I've no idea why because they grow so easily in this country.

At Christmas time we see recipes and images of redcurrants, where do we buy them from at Christmas and where do they come from?

These lovely cupcakes can be made using raspberries or a combination of redcurrants and raspberries. Yes, the fruits are inclined to sink to the bottom of the cupcake cases..........I've got that sinking feeling again!

Makes: 9
110g caster sugar
110g softened butter
110g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g redcurrants

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC.
2. Place 9 cupcake cases in a muffin tin.
3. Add all the ingredients, except the redcurrants, to a bowl and mix together for 4 minutes until soft and fluffy.
4. Fold in half the redcurrants.  Place scoops of the mixture into the cupcake cases. Sprinkle the remaining redcurrants on top of the cake batter.
5. Bake for 30 minutes until cooked through. Place onto a cooling rack.
6. To make the icing: Add 100g icing sugar to a medium size bowl and stir in enough lemon juice to make a pouring consistency.  Colour the icing with a few drops of pink colouring.  Pour into a plastic bag, cut a tiny corner off the bag and decorate the tops of the cooled cupcakes. Take a few sprigs of redcurrants and brush with lightly whisked egg white, spoon over caster sugar to frost.  Place onto a tray lined with wax paper to dry.

Easter Egg Cupcakes - Recipe

Easter Egg Cupcakes with Smashed Eggs

The blogosphere is on overload with Cadbury Creme Eggs recipes, but alas I'm not a fan of the Creme Egg.  The photographs and recipes I've seen though are enough to make me wish I was a Creme Egg fan.

I've used my favourite chocolate filled eggs because I'm happy that I can decorate my cakes and eat the eggs at the same time.

I made some of the cupcakes in muffin cases and others in a friand tin.

Makes: 12 chocolate cakes
You will need: 150g softened unsalted butter, 150g caster sugar, 150g self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 25g cocoa powder, 3 eggs

1. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cake cases. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat for 2 minutes. Divide the mixture among the cases.
2. Bake in a preheated oven, 180°C for 20 minutes until they are risen and just firm to the touch. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Fudge Icing

You will need: 25g unsalted butter, 15g cocoa powder, 175g icing sugar, 2/3 tablespoons of milk.

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the cocoa powder and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the icing sugar and milk, mixing until smooth.
2. Return to the heat for 1 minute, stirring until it has a glossy pouring consistency, if it is too thick add a teaspoon of milk. Quickly spread the icing over the cakes whilst it is still warm. Top with mini eggs.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes - Recipe

Fairtrade bananas are used in this recipe

Fairtrade fortnight is from 24th February through to 9th March 2014.  I'm a week late with my Fairtrade posting but better late than never.

Chocolate makes everything taste better and these little beauties have chocolate chips in the cake too. Banana and chocolate is a wonderful pairing and you can't really go wrong.

Somehow in my kitchen there are always a couple of black bananas left in the fruit bowl, you've got to bake these delicious cupcakes, you know you want to........

Kitchen Kit: Food Processor

Makes: 10

You will need:  muffin tin lined with cupcake cases

80g softened salted butter
100g soft brown sugar
1 large egg
50ml room temperature milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
130g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 very ripe bananas mashed
40g dark chocolate chips

For the topping:

50g dark chocolate
15g salted butter
Cadbury chocolate flakes

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
2. Place the softened butter and sugar in the food processor. Process to combine.  Scrape down and then add the egg, milk and vanilla extract.  Process quickly, scrape down again.
3. Add the flour and baking powder, process until combined.  Add the mashed banana and process. Using the pulse function quickly add the chocolate chips.
4. Fill the muffin cases. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
5. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the tins and cool on a baking tray.
6. Place a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, add the chocolate and butter stirring until melted.
7. Take a spoon and add blobs of the chocolate mixture on top of each cupcake, cool slightly and add a piece of flake.
8. Eat!

Spiced Rum, Raisin, Banana & Apple Cupcakes - Recipe

Everywhere I look on the Internet it is telling me to love my leftovers.  I started to feel a little guilty because I'm not sure that I do love my leftovers, in fact all they do is stare back at me and make me feel bad that I haven't used everything up from Christmas.

For these cupcakes I have used a spiced rum that I opened a while back, and one I was kindly sent for review, although I do feel a bit naughty using it in cupcakes.  A packet of opened wrinkly raisins, the last banana in the fruit bowl and a blemished apple.  Magically I used a satsuma left over from Christmas which I have stored in the fridge using StayFresh Longer bags - the satsuma oranges are still perfectly juicy.

I think I've now redeemed myself and love my leftovers......but only because these lovely cupcakes are full of Caribbean flavours.

                        The cupcakes are for adults only, both the cake batter and icing contain rum!

Using an ice cream scoop helps with loading the cupcake cases, baking is messy and I find this is the                                                              cleanest and easiest method

Kitchen Kit: 12 hole muffin tin lined with cupcake cases

Ingredients:
100g raisins
2 tablespoons spiced rum
150g soft margarine (Stork)
150g soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
175g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
1 dessert apple
1 ripe banana
finely grated rind of either a satsuma or orange

For the icing:
150g icing sugar
2 tsp rum
8 tsp fresh satsuma or orange juice
Grated rind of a satsuma or orange

You will need: 12-hole muffin tin lined with cupcake cases

1. Preheat the oven 180ºC.
2. Place the raisins in a bowl and pour the rum over, stir and leave whilst you get on with the cake batter.
3. Add the soft margarine, sugar, eggs, sifted flour, baking powder and orange rind to a large bowl.  Whisk for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Peel and core the apple, chop into small pieces.  Peel the banana and cut into small dice.  Add to the cake batter along with the raisins and soaking rum, stir to combine.
5. Use an ice cream scoop to add the cake batter to the cupcake cases.
6. Bake for 30 minutes until golden.  After 10 minutes remove from the tin and continue cooling on a wire rack.
7. To make the icing:  Sift the icing into a bowl, add the rum and enough orange juice to give a coating consistency.  Pour the icing over the cupcakes and decorate with grated orange rind.

Cupcakes cooling on the cake rack
 and I'm resisting eating them before they are iced

Strawberry and Chocolate Cupcakes: Recipe

I've eaten more chocolate this year because the winter went on and on, I'm not a chocolate snob, but a bar of Lindt Excellence Strawberry Intense Dark Chocolate is hard to beat. The chocolate has pieces of freeze dried strawberries running through, it smells of summer and reminds me of strawberries dipped in chocolate.

The strawberries for the cupcakes were bought but it
shouldn't be too long before I am picking my own strawberries

For the vanilla cupcakes:

Makes: 9 cupcakes

You will need: 12 hole muffin tin lined with 9 cupcake cases

115g softened butter, 115g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 115g self raising flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric mixer for two minutes.
3. Spoon into 9 cupcake cases and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.

For the vanilla buttercream:

You will need:

175g softened unsalted butter, 350g sifted icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract.

1. Beat the butter in a bowl to soften. Add the icing sugar gradually, add the vanilla extract, and beat until the icing is very smooth and pale in colour which will take 5 minutes using a stand mixer.

To decorate:

I used a 1M icing nozzle to pipe the buttercream. Cut a square of chocolate in half and place on the buttercream, top with a whole strawberry.

More recipes you may like:
White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans Cupcakes
Mini Strawberry Victoria Sponges

Photographs taken using the Nikon D3200.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Banana and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes taken with the Nikon D3200

Looking at bananas in the fruit bowl turning from black to blacker, resisting throwing them out and then feeling pressured into using them happens far too often in my house, so let's do some baking. All you need are a few store cupboard/fridge ingredients to make the cake batter and hopefully a few cupcake cases.  I used nine tulip cupcake cases and shared the batter between them.

The recipe by Mary Berry for the banana and chocolate chip cupcakes can be found on the Daily Mail website, I substituted the caster sugar for soft brown sugar and left the milk out to prevent the chocolate chips sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf

Mary Berry to the rescue for those black banana recipes, the banana and chocolate chip loaf is one of the best I have ever eaten - I try to remember to leave the milk out of the recipe because I've always found the chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the loaf, in this instance I forgot and the chocolate chips sank....This loaf improves with keeping and turns lovely and sticky, a drizzle of chocolate on top of the loaf will totally transform it's otherwise plain appearance.

Both the cupcakes and loaf freeze perfectly.

More suggestions for using up those ripe or over ripe bananas:

Nigella's Chocolate Banana Muffins
Banana Blueberry Cakes

Recipe: Baileys and Walnut Cupcakes

I am mostly drawn towards coffee and walnut cupcakes but this time I left out the coffee in the cake batter and used Baileys in the buttercream.  Good idea - yes?

For the cake batter I prefer to use salted butter or to make them lighter substitute some of the butter with margarine.  I always use unsalted butter for my buttercream, it's all down to individual taste, and I know salted this and that is everywhere, but I don't think salted buttercream will ever be for me.

The recipe below is for 9 cupcakes - cupcake cases vary and these are medium size to allow for rising but leaving enough room for the buttercream topping.

This month I need to concentrate on eating less sugar, but failed, I grazed on seeds and then ate a slice of Christmas Cake........

You will need:  9 muffin cases and a muffin tin

For the cupcakes:

175g softened butter
175g caster sugar
175g self raising flour
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
100g chopped walnuts

For the Icing:

250g softened unsalted butter
500g sieved icing sugar
1 tbsp Baileys
Walnut halves to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC.
2. Add all the cake ingredients in a bowl and beat for two minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the walnuts.
3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cases.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked.  Cool for 10 minutes and then place on a rack to cool.
5. For the icing: beat the icing sugar and butter together until fluffy.  Stir in the Baileys.
6. Pipe or spread the buttercream over the cupcakes and top with walnut halves.
7. Can be frozen decorated.

Chocolate and Redcurrant Christmas Cupcakes

The sharpness of redcurrants and the richness from chocolate go beautifully together. I made chocolate cupcakes and added some redcurrants to the batter. After baking and cooling they were topped with my favourite cupcake chocolate fudge icing.

To make the frosted redcurrants all you have to do is whisk an egg very lightly and brush the fruit with the egg white, dip the fruit into sugar and leave to dry overnight on baking paper - frosted redcurrants are delicious.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes - National Cupcake Week 2012

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes or lemon meringue pie? My favourite is lemon meringue pie - I almost forgot National Cupcake Week and these cupcakes were made at lightening speed. So quick, that when I browned the meringue with the blow torch I set fire to a couple of the cupcake cases. You wanted to see the photographic evidence, now that's just mean.....

Until late today I had no idea that I was going to make these, the lemon curd is from a jar I had in the fridge, nothing wrong with that provided you use a good one. Home made lemon curd is always fabulous and these cupcakes would have been on another level of loveliness if I had planned ahead.

The meringue wasn't easy to pipe onto the puddle of lemon curd and kept on moving around, other than that, they were a breeze to make.

Makes: 9 cupcakes

You will need: 12 hole muffin tin lined with 9 cupcake cases

115g softened butter, 115g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 115g self raising flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric mixer for two minutes.
3. Spoon into 9 cupcake cases and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.

For the Meringue

2 egg whites, 50g caster sugar, a very large pinch cream of tartar

1. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until soft peaks form. Add the sugar a little at a time and beat until stiff and glossy.
2. Place the meringue into an icing bag fitted with a star tube.

To Decorate

1. Dollop a spoon of lemon curd on top of the cupcakes and swirl round to make a puddle.
2. Pipe the meringue onto the puddle of lemon curd.
3. Either place the cupcakes back into the oven 230ºC for 5 minutes until golden, or use a blow torch and brown the meringue taking care not to set fire to the cupcake cases!

This is my entry for the Calendar Cakes Challenge and this month is of course cupcakes. Hosted by Laura Loves Cakes and Dolly Bakes -  Rachel from Dolly Bakes is this months host.

Recipe: British Cherry Cupcakes and British Strawberry Cupcakes

Going for Gold! Two British fruits to adorn the top of my cupcakes, strawberries are nearing the end of the season and British cherries are in the shops, both are more fabulous than fabulous this year.

It is possibly a crime to spray cherries gold but I think I can get away with it at the moment.  To be fair, I did decide not to spray the strawberries as well......

The cupcakes are the usual chocolate sponge mix, although I splashed the cash and used a very good cocoa powder, good cocoa powder really does make a difference to the chocolate sponge.

Makes:  12 cupcakes

You will need:  a twelve hole muffin tin lined with muffin cases.

For the cupcakes:

100g self raising flour, 125g Stork SB, 125g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons warm milk, 3 level tablespoons cocoa powder.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Sift the self raising flour and cocoa into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix all together for 2 minutes.
3. Divide the mixture between the cases and bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked.
4. Cool in the tin.
5. Decorate.

The July Calendar Cakes Challenge is hosted by Laura Loves Cakes and Dolly Bakes.  The host this month is Laura and the challenge is The Olympics - I chose to use gold cherries and a Union Jack box.

The Simple and in Season challenge is hosted by Fabulicious Food.

Chocolate and Blackcurrant Cupcakes

Chocolate and Blackcurrant Cupcakes are a surprising combination of flavours and seem to work really well together.

My cupcakes are a chocolate sponge mix with a handful of blackcurrants stirred in gently. I frosted some of the blackcurrants for decoration and they are so delicious it was a few for me and a few to decorate the cupcakes. 

The pretty cupcake stand is by Tala, I made twelve cupcakes but unfortunately I was clumsy and three were knocked over. I think I did quite well,  it could have been nine knocked over and three left to decorate the stand! 

We Should Cocoa is hosted by Chele of the Chocolate Teapot and Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog - Choclette is the host for this months challenge Chocolate and Blackcurrants.

Tea Time Treats is hosted by Kate of WhatKateBaked and Karen of Lavender and Lovage - Karen is this months host and the challenge is Cake Stall Cakes.

Thank you Tala for the pretty cake stand.

Chocolate Chip and Banana Cupcakes

I've made this recipe so many times now, there are always over-ripe bananas in my fruit bowl. The blacker the banana, the lighter the sponge will be. My favourite cupcakes are always going to be the ones topped with chocolate flake, even though some of them were decorated with chocolate eggs. The puddle of chocolate on top of the cupcakes is a mixture of dark chocolate and unsalted butter gently melted together.

The recipe is from one of my favourite food writers Annie Bell who is the principal cookery writer for YOU Magazine. I always tear out the recipe section from the magazine and tuck them away in my Annie Bell cookery books for future use.

Christmas Chocolate Cupcakes

It's coming up to that time of year again! These happy little men are surrounded by snow and a dusting of silver glitter.

The cream cheese frosting makes a welcome change from the usual buttercream and pipes really well. If you find the frosting is a little soft just pop it into the fridge covered for a few minutes to firm up. Don't be tempted to use anything other than full fat cream cheese, I used Philadelphia, or you won't be able to pipe the swirls.

Makes: 12 cupcakes

You will need: a twelve hole muffin tin lined with muffin cases.

For the cupcakes:

100g self raising flour, 125g softened butter, 125g caster sugar, 2 medium eggs, 2 tablespoons milk, 3 level tablespoons cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and milk, fold in the sifted flour and cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth.
3. Divide the mixture between the cases and bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked.
4. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

200g Philadelphia Full Fat Cream Cheese at room temperature, 400g sifted icing sugar, 70g softened butter.

1. Simply mix all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.
2. Pipe swirls on top of the cupcakes.

Giant Chocolate Buttons Cupcakes - National Cupcake Week 12-18 September 2011

It's National Cupcake Week and I decided to make some very easy chocolate cupcakes and decorate them with giant chocolate buttons.

The Giant Chocolate Buttons are from Marks and Spencer and look like real buttons. They come in a fabulous box with a real button attached, all of the buttons are in individual wrappers to stop the chocolate getting marked. Brilliant product.

I am not going to take any credit for the idea of using these buttons because the lady who owns my local coffee shop makes cupcakes topped with these, so lets say, I just borrowed the idea. I know she won't mind and will be flattered that I went home and made some too.

I have been having some problems with cupcake cases from one of the large supermarkets getting squashed in my muffin tin. By this, I mean when the cupcakes have been removed from the tin the concertina's on the cupcake cases have squashed themselves into the baked cupcake, it doesn't happen to all of them though. I think this is because the cupcake cases are too large for the tin. It isn't a problem that I have encountered before. Has anyone else had any problems with cupcake cases or am I on my own with this problem?

Happy Cupcake Week!

Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans Cupcakes

It seems that once I get a theme going, I just don't know when to stop. Not so long ago, it was cupcakes and flowers and now it is cupcakes and chocolate.

Mr W and I went on a shopping spree for cake toppings and to make the cupcakes even more calorific, I have a box overflowing with wonderful chocolate cake toppings. The great thing about this theme is, I/we get to eat any decorations that are left over.

I made a vanilla cake base, piped with buttercream and simply topped them with these fabulous chocolate covered coffee beans from Waitrose.


You will need: A muffin tin lined with 12 cupcake cases

115g softened butter, 115g caster sugar, 115g self raising flour, 2 eggs, 1-2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

1. Beat together the butter and caster sugar until soft and fluffy. Add the eggs slowly to the mixture, together with the vanilla extract and milk. Fold in the flour.
2. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cases and cook in a preheated oven 180°C for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Buttercream Icing

250g unsalted butter, 500g icing sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon hot water

Simply mix all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.